Americans Traveling to Iceland Enjoy Best Exchange Rate in Years

Americans traveling to Iceland are enjoying one of the best exchange rates in years. For a time one dollar netted just 60 Icelandic kroner (ISK). As of late March 2008, one dollar grew to equal 75 kroner, a 20 percent increase in buying power.

This is great news for visitors to Laugavegur and BankastrÃti, the main shopping streets of Reykjavik with numerous shops selling designer clothes. A hot dog in downtown Reykjavik, at about 210 ISK, is now about $2.80, versus $3.50 last year. Want to take a tour of the countryside? A one-day trip with Reykjavik Excursions to SnÃfellsjÃkull glacier, featured in Jules Verne’s and The Journey to the Centre of the Earth, is a real bargain now. The 11,500 ISK cost is now only about $153, versus almost $200 a year ago.

Compared to other European destinations that make Americans feel like paupers, when you pay in dollars, Icelanders give you the royal treatment.